ABU HAMZA, the radical Islamic cleric who faces extradition to the United States on terrorist charges, was betrayed by one of his most trusted aides, according to American investigators.

James Ujaama, 37, once an aspiring Hollywood screenwriter who converted to Islam, has provided evidence for eight of the 11 counts on which Hamza now faces extradition. He claims that he was instructed by Hamza to find a ranch in America which could be used as a weapons depot and training camp.

In secret hearings before a grand jury in New York, Ujaama claimed that Hamza dispatched operatives to America in October 1999 to provide support for Al-Qaeda.

Ujaama was given a reduced sentence in return for evidence against Hamza and was released from jail in April. He is now in hiding in America.

Hamza, 47, was arrested at his west London home on Thursday and faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in jail. Now in Belmarsh prison in southeast London, where his metal hooks have been removed, he is likely to challenge the extradition proceedings on the grounds that they violate his human rights.

The most serious charges against Hamza involve his alleged role in the kidnapping of 16 western tourists in Yemen in December 1998 that resulted in the deaths of three Britons.

It is understood that intercepts of Hamza’s contact with the kidnappers were provided to American investigators by GCHQ, the British government’s electronic intelligence collection agency. US prosecutors say that Hamza gave advice to the kidnappers and provided them with a satellite phone. He had also put £500 of credit on the phone.

The intercepts have been available for years — Hamza admitted that he was in contact with the kidnappers — but until now neither the US or British authorities have acted on them. The new evidence is that provided by Ujaama.

Ujaama, who has spent much of his life in Seattle, was for years a role model for his local community because of his business acumen and his community work. It was even decreed by one Washington state legislator in 1994 that a day should be dedicated to honouring him because of his contribution to city life.

However, Ujaama became frustrated after he failed to sell to Hollywood a book that he had written about his life. In 1997 he converted to Islam. He subsequently travelled to London where he met Hamza and was captivated by the cleric’s impassioned ideology and his declaration of a jihad on the enemies of Islam.

Ujaama helped to set up Hamza’s website, the Supporters of Shariah, and travelled to Afghanistan. When he returned to America he used his business skills to seek out a potential training camp for Hamza.

In October 1999 he sent a fax to London suggesting a site in Bly, Oregon. It was similar to a camp in Afghanistan, he wrote, and could be used to store weapons.

Hamza allegedly dispatched two operatives to check out the site, but later mocked the idea that he had ever wanted to set up a camp, asking: “What are you going to train there for? Shooting trees like John Wayne?” By July 2002 the FBI was investigating Ujaama and he was later charged with providing safe houses, training facilities and Al-Qaeda personnel. In a deal with the US authorities, the most serious charges against him were dropped and he received a reduced prison sentence in return for testifying against Hamza.

This could prove to be Hamza’s final downfall. Originally from Egypt, Hamza came to Britain in 1980. He travelled to Afghanistan in the early 1990s and on his return became a pivotal figure among Islamic extremists.

He was partially blinded in Afghanistan and lost both his hands. His hook and vitriolic preachings ensured his notoriety. He has become infamous for his pithy and often offensive public comments.

Speaking of the British, he once said: “They want only to look at nude pictures, go to football matches, have a few pints and go to sleep. They have become slaves.” He has also claimed that the September 11 attacks were a Jewish and CIA plot, and said the astronauts killed in the Columbia space shuttle tragedy were “punished by Allah” because there were Christians, Jews and a Hindu aboard the craft.

The Finsbury Park mosque in north London where Hamza preached was attended by a number of followers who were subsequently involved in terrorism, including Richard Reid, the “shoe bomber” who tried to blow up an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami in December 2001.

Hamza’s presence in Britain has long been an embarrassment to the authorities. Ujaama’s testimony may for the first time provide evidence of his links to Al-Qaeda.

For some, Ujaama’s evidence will confirm Hamza’s role as a key figure masterminding terror operations around the world. But many intelligence experts are less convinced, saying that he has been under such close surveillance since 1998 that he would have been of limited use to Osama Bin Laden.

Hamza is likely to launch legal challenges alleging human rights violations over the attempts to extradite him. His lawyers may argue that no significant new evidence has been found against him and that he has been used for political grandstanding.

Owen Davies QC, an expert on extradition law, said: “There will be pressure to put this through, but these are new extradition laws and they remain to be tested. He will be able to make a number of claims which are all potentially of substance.”

One argument expected to be used by Hamza’s lawyers is that his right to a fair trial has been violated because of the adverse publicity surrounding his case. Lawyers are also likely to cite the treatment of suspects in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay and to say that Hamza may be subject to degrading treatment or torture if he is sent to the United States.

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